What do you think about on long runs??

When the ipod plays the right song I can't resist busting out some air guitar and drums pretending im a musical genius, when in reality I've never played an instrument in my life...apart from the recorder, and no one plays the Air Recorder...do they?

I'm not sure if I'm entirely convinced, but I can say that running on a treadmill in a shop window (RW world record attempt) at 17kph seemed a lot easier whilst listening to the chorus of Vienna by Ultravox than it did listening to Wet Wet Wet immediately afterwards. Smack My Bitch Up did the trick as well.

I sometimes run with my mp3 player. I just find it a nuisance most of the time. I don't normally listen to it, it just plays in my head and I get fed up with the noise. I prefer silence.

When I run I often think about the route I'm going to take, I count to keep my pace steady. I groan when it hurts, I segment my long runs so it doesn't feel like I have all that distance to run. Sometimes I just wonder where the heck I am when I get lost. I try to get the notion that I hate running out of my head.

Quite often I just concentrate on where I'm putting my feet so I don't go for a burton.

Bikermouse I feel your pain, went for a run the other night and had planned for an easy 6 mile but ended up lost in a housing estate unable to find my way out, if was like a bad dream. Eventually I made it out, but looked at the old Garmin and by the time I got myself home it was just under 7! .

I manage to enter some kind of psychological purgatory where I can experience very happy emotions, sad emotions, all sorts but only in fleeting moments, I seem to find it impossible to dwell on any point when I'm running. I could think of the worst thing that's happening in my life at the time and within a minute or so I'll be wondering if I should up my pace or what route I'm going to take, having completely forgotten to maintain my previous train of thought.

I think of absolutely everything and completely nothing all at the same time.

The best part of a fast, long run though is when I realise I'm getting good shape/form and after quite a few miles can really turn up the pressure and fly along. It gives me an enormous buzz, especially if I'm training for a specific race, in which I've set myself a target time. When those runs start flying along, I start to realise that my target might actually be within reach and I actually feel the adrenaline rush through me, it's an awesome feeling.

Bikermouse I feel your pain, went for a run the other night and had planned for an easy 6 mile but ended up lost in a housing estate unable to find my way out, if was like a bad dream. Eventually I made it out, but looked at the old Garmin and by the time I got myself home it was just under 7! .

Been there as well! Was looking for a hidden alleyway, asked a few people and no-one knew so I had to take another route home, one that was at least a mile or two longer

It's more of a success thing with me, and i've kept log of every run i've done.

there's no room for music on my bus. at the onset for a mile, mile and a half i'm all full of zeal strength and mischief. real trouble starts after having done a couple of hills or a steep one. this MAN in my head who is not sympathetic is in a constant conversation preaching me my demise( by now i'm all sweat,breathing forcefully and dragging heavy legs and even a heavier body, which is no more mine) its not an easy ride. my conviction is at aid...' im a born fighter... i'll not give up the man always fails to take stage in the final act. thats when i wear a thin smile and even gracefully wave at admirer. that was 10k

I'm not sure if I'm entirely convinced, but I can say that running on a treadmill in a shop window (RW world record attempt) at 17kph seemed a lot easier whilst listening to the chorus of Vienna by Ultravox than it did listening to Wet Wet Wet immediately afterwards. Smack My Bitch Up did the trick as well.

Not sure on the level of 'science' here, but looks pretty good none the less! Bit dissapointed tho as hoped I'd be able to make my millions doing this, but suppose I'll have to stick to 'real work'! Must admit I find SMBU pretty good as well, just not when I'm halfway up a long steep hill!

Went for a run with my cousin yesterday and chatted all way round, rather than listening to music, which was great! Managed to be able to string a coherient sentence together for most of it, although my Mins per mile rate dropped a bit, but I put that down to a late night

Not sure on the level of 'science' here, but looks pretty good none the less! Bit dissapointed tho as hoped I'd be able to make my millions doing this, but suppose I'll have to stick to 'real work'! Must admit I find SMBU pretty good as well, just not when I'm halfway up a long steep hill!

Went for a run with my cousin yesterday and chatted all way round, rather than listening to music, which was great! Managed to be able to string a coherient sentence together for most of it, although my Mins per mile rate dropped a bit, but I put that down to a late night

Also something I think about on a long run: perhaps my performance would be better but for those bottles of Peroni and getting in at 3am Friday night.

On the subject of alcohol and unrelated to this Topic what is the general consensus when it comes to alcohol and training for a Marathon?

I used to get lost in music on my ipod. However, my latest race entry info dropped through the door rceently and I they have banned them ! AAARRRRGHHHHH - disaster! So, from that moment on I have trained in silence. Hated it the first time out (about 6 miles) and just about kept going whilst being put off by hearing my own panting and puffing for the first time. Since then I have learnt to love the silence. Did 13 miles yesterday with just myself for company and it was wonderful. I urge everyone who runs with an ipod to give it a try.

Dont know what I think about - suppose its mainly about how far I have to go before my next sip of water (trying to mimic the spacing of drinks stations in my next half marathon), or next gel pack. But I do sometimes 'lose' a mile or two when my mind wanders off onto something. I have also found myself listening to my breathing and can now guage my physcial state very well on my patterns of breath.

What I've also found recently is that running on trails really helps with the mental side of a long run. I suppose its probably down to the fact that on the trails I run I cant see too far ahead. Often when running on the road, you can see a couple of miles infront and you never seem to get very far quickly. On trails you can only really concentrate on the next 30m or thereabouts, and its very easy to not notice the miles clocking up.

I'm no expert here, but I started running a few years ago when one of my mates suggested it would be a good idea to do a marathon before I was 30, and didn't avoided the beer for the last 3 months of my training. As far as I can remember a clear head in the morning before training runs and weight loss were positives!

Since then I've been a yoyo runner, so entered the Cardiff Half this year to give me a goal to keep going, which has worked! I've dropped my booze consumption to a low level, but haven't really noticed much difference on my running. I'll probably be good for the last fortnight of training, or else I'll feel guilty!

General CJ yardstick however, little and often is ok and make sure you keep drinking water if you are likely to overindulge! For me the dehydration is the main killer (as well as lack of sleep), and I find that can make the difference between a good long run, and one you want to forget!

Crouchy - I agree with the 'everything in moderation' approach to drinking and marathon training. Half the battle is getting to the start line in good physical AND mental shape, and if you spend 3 months wishing the whole thing would be over just because you've decided to deprive yourself of the simple pleasure of moderate alcohol imbibement, well that's just counter-productive.

In practise, everything in moderation just means that getting bladdered on a Saturday night when you've got a 21 mile run scheduled for Sunday morning is a very bad idea, but a couple of cheeky ones, even the night before a warm-up 10k, won't do any harm. In fact the night before my 2:44 pb in the Paris Marathon last year I had a couple of Belgian beers. Can't go on holiday and not drink!

Phil...you just gave the answer I was looking for, especially with the fact its my 21st prior to the Marathon cannot deprive myself of a few then!

And next time I go to Pizza Express, for pasta I will definitely try the Gran Reserva. I personally think Duval should be available in every pub and restaurant in the UK, what a beauty and a killer too!

Ah Duvel, now there's some rocket fuel! I ended up having 4 (?) bottles of that on Friday night because the pub ran out of draft Leffe. (I know, what a disaster!) Good job the off-road 20 mile race was on Sunday and not Saturday, as I felt right as rain after a couple of good nights' sleep!

If you know your Belgian beers, I'd say Peroni Gran Reserva tastes a bit like Affligem or Maredsous. Nice amber colour to it, and served in a glass very similar in style to Belle Vue. [/beer nerd]

Interesting that a thread about what we think about on long runs has managed to end up like an episode of 'Oz and James' Belgian Beer Road Trip'!!

Personally I prefer to stick to the real ales, as I'm sure that I read in RW once (years ago!!) that darker coloured beers, and red wines contained more antioxidants and so were better for you than the carb loaded, chemical full lagers and ciders (not scrumpy, but that lives on it's own somewhere!). My excuse and I stick to it!

Anyway, to go full circle, I sometimes find myself thinking about a nice cold one on a long run, and will no doubt be nailing a few after the Cardiff Half

Can't say I have tried Affligem or Maredsous PP, I went to Belgium a few years ago (a football tour, not for the culture) at the age of about 16 and the two beers that we drank were Duval and Hoegaarden. Can tell you that the Hoegaarden there tastes a hell of a lot better than the dribble they are selling here!

Oh sorry - back to the thread... When I'm on a long run I think about the run itself. The road ahead, the weather, my rhythm, my breathing, the trees, the sky, the next milestone, my pace and being alive.

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